Master Vyn," I lowered my head. He'd been basking in the Governor's praise over the meals that were produced in his kitchen. I didn't point out the obvious to Vyn—that many of these dishes hadn't come from his kitchen before I'd joined the staff. Surely, the Governor of the Realm hadn't obtained his position by being so stupid.
Before going to bed that evening, I made my way down the long hall to the chamber where the escape pods were stored. Each pod had a separate navigation system, preprogrammed to deliver anyone inside to a safe place on a nearby moon. Enough oxygen was stored inside to keep an occupant alive for days if necessary. I found the pod assigned to me—it bore my name on the outside tag. All seemed in order, so I turned away. My bed was calling and I yawned as I made my way toward it.
* * *
Purposely not preparing anything important that I might be pulled away from the following day, I was putting a vegetable dish together for the evening meal when the warning bells went off. Leetha and Morane, both giggling merrily, ran out the door ahead of me. I trotted more sedately behind them.
Vyn hadn't bothered to show up all day, making me wonder what was going on. Perhaps Leetha and Morane had given him all he could take in bed the night before and he was resting afterward. Doors were already being slammed on pods when I entered the hall so I made my way to the designated pod, closed the door, strapped myself in as was required, waited for the exercise to end and the all clear to sound.
As I waited, my pod began to shake. I heard the couplings holding it in place snap away outside. Perhaps I screamed, I don't remember, when my pod detached completely and shot through the opening slot in the roof as if fired from a blast cannon.
Ripping the communication device off the pod wall while I still had gravity, I pushed the button to call technicians on the other end. The device was completely dead—someone had disabled it. As practical jokes went, this one was perhaps the worst I'd ever experienced. Still, I expected the pod to be recalled—all of them were programmed for that in case of a misfire. Nothing happened—no recall came, the pod picked up speed and I knew the moment I traveled past the atmosphere of Tulgalan; the communicator floated out of my hand and bounced into one of the rounded walls. I know I screamed then—even I knew the moon was on the other side of Tulgalan and I was headed toward the emptiness of space with nothing left to stop me.
Chapter 3
Hardel Zim, Governor of the Realm of Tulgalan, stared across his desk at the kitchen staff. What remained of the kitchen staff, anyway. One of his employees was floating aimlessly in space at the moment. A ship had been dispatched to pick up the wandering orb, but the three in front of him were guilty of conspiracy.
"I have the vids—did you think we wouldn't bother to check them?" The Governor slapped the comp-vid on his desk, making Vyn and his two assistants jump. "The images are there, Master Vyn. Now, I'm sure you think you knew what you were doing, reprogramming the pod, but you succeeded in disabling the tracking device and the communicator, too. The ship searching for her has failed to determine the pod's location so far. If any harm comes to that girl, you will be charged with murder. And what was this over, I ask you? Jealousy? Is that it? Knowledge that she was better than you? She could have come to me at any time and let me know what was happening, yet she did not. Can you explain that to me?"
"I have no excuse, sir." It was Vyn's turn to hang his head. Leetha and Morane had been afraid to look at the Governor from the beginning.
"Do you want to be the one to explain to Addah Desh that his daughter is floating in space because you sabotaged her escape pod? Do you?" The Governor flung out a hand in a helpless gesture. "Because I can assure you that I don't want to be the one to tell him."
"We never knew he had a daughter," Vyn
Before going to bed that evening, I made my way down the long hall to the chamber where the escape pods were stored. Each pod had a separate navigation system, preprogrammed to deliver anyone inside to a safe place on a nearby moon. Enough oxygen was stored inside to keep an occupant alive for days if necessary. I found the pod assigned to me—it bore my name on the outside tag. All seemed in order, so I turned away. My bed was calling and I yawned as I made my way toward it.
* * *
Purposely not preparing anything important that I might be pulled away from the following day, I was putting a vegetable dish together for the evening meal when the warning bells went off. Leetha and Morane, both giggling merrily, ran out the door ahead of me. I trotted more sedately behind them.
Vyn hadn't bothered to show up all day, making me wonder what was going on. Perhaps Leetha and Morane had given him all he could take in bed the night before and he was resting afterward. Doors were already being slammed on pods when I entered the hall so I made my way to the designated pod, closed the door, strapped myself in as was required, waited for the exercise to end and the all clear to sound.
As I waited, my pod began to shake. I heard the couplings holding it in place snap away outside. Perhaps I screamed, I don't remember, when my pod detached completely and shot through the opening slot in the roof as if fired from a blast cannon.
Ripping the communication device off the pod wall while I still had gravity, I pushed the button to call technicians on the other end. The device was completely dead—someone had disabled it. As practical jokes went, this one was perhaps the worst I'd ever experienced. Still, I expected the pod to be recalled—all of them were programmed for that in case of a misfire. Nothing happened—no recall came, the pod picked up speed and I knew the moment I traveled past the atmosphere of Tulgalan; the communicator floated out of my hand and bounced into one of the rounded walls. I know I screamed then—even I knew the moon was on the other side of Tulgalan and I was headed toward the emptiness of space with nothing left to stop me.
Chapter 3
Hardel Zim, Governor of the Realm of Tulgalan, stared across his desk at the kitchen staff. What remained of the kitchen staff, anyway. One of his employees was floating aimlessly in space at the moment. A ship had been dispatched to pick up the wandering orb, but the three in front of him were guilty of conspiracy.
"I have the vids—did you think we wouldn't bother to check them?" The Governor slapped the comp-vid on his desk, making Vyn and his two assistants jump. "The images are there, Master Vyn. Now, I'm sure you think you knew what you were doing, reprogramming the pod, but you succeeded in disabling the tracking device and the communicator, too. The ship searching for her has failed to determine the pod's location so far. If any harm comes to that girl, you will be charged with murder. And what was this over, I ask you? Jealousy? Is that it? Knowledge that she was better than you? She could have come to me at any time and let me know what was happening, yet she did not. Can you explain that to me?"
"I have no excuse, sir." It was Vyn's turn to hang his head. Leetha and Morane had been afraid to look at the Governor from the beginning.
"Do you want to be the one to explain to Addah Desh that his daughter is floating in space because you sabotaged her escape pod? Do you?" The Governor flung out a hand in a helpless gesture. "Because I can assure you that I don't want to be the one to tell him."
"We never knew he had a daughter," Vyn
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